Principles of Pilates 1: Concentration

It is very important that you concentrate on every movement in your body while doing each exercise. This will take time as your body physically learns the new patterns of movement required to execute the exercises correctly.

Benefits: Your mind will become more aware of the feeling of the movements and any changes that are caused in other places in your body.

The exercises become intrusive in all you do.

Your mind becomes more focused, more aware of what you do throughtout the day. Notice how you feel while doing your job, looking after your children, running errands and all that you do during the day.

It is always a good idea to take some time at the end of the day and reflect on your day.Reward yourself with 5-10 minutes of self-evaluation and reflection. Lie on a mat or on your bed and feel your body. Notice your breathing.

As in any new venture in your life you must be patient and do the movements in small increments.

Principle 2: Centering

Principles 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Example:

Lie on the mat, knees bent, feet on the floor as if standing, arms relaxed by your side, and let your body imprint into the mat.

• How are your feet on the mat?
• Can you feel all your toes touching the mat, what about your heels?
• How are your legs on the mat?
• Does one calf touch the mat more than the other does?
• How do the backs of your thighs lie on the mat?
• How does your pelvis lie on the mat?
• Does one side of your pelvis lie differently than the other?
• How does your ribcage lie on the mat? Notice the difference from one side to the other.
• How do your shoulders lie on the mat? Is one side closer to the mat than the other?
• How do your arms lie on the mat?
• How does your head lie on the mat? Does it feel straight or slightly looking one way more than the other?

Inhale into your ribcage.

• Does one side take the breath better than the other side?

These are a few questions to ask yourself during every movement while doing Pilates.